Tuesday, November 7, 2006

all is right with the world

Reading the election returns on the Post's website I feel a surge of hope the likes of which I haven't felt in a while. I was too young in 2000; my friends and I all wanted Bush because our parents told us Bill Clinton did a "bad thing" and Gore was no better. In 2002, I took National, State and Local Government, and our teacher encouraged us to get involved and, on election night, my heart sunk as I saw Bob Ehrlich's victory celebration. In 2004, I was too demoralized to get involved in my high school's Young Democrats after I saw Howard Dean's disastrous speech on CNN; when Bush won a second term I succumbed to the realization that he was, in fact, Our President.

But tonight is different. I am listening to O'Malley's March, and I am hopeful. Perhaps we will get Maryland back on track soon.

It could be worse. When I got to cast my very first general election ballot, I knew it was futile - the choices were the inexplicably popular sitting President (Reagan) and a hopeless Democratic contender (Mondale). Sigh.